After GDP Growth Rate Slump, Arun Jaitley Assures ‘Additional Measures’ to Boost Economy

New Delhi, Sept 20: After accepting the slump in growth of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) as a "matter of concern", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government would be taking "ad

Updated: September 20, 2017 7:10 PM IST

By India.com News Desk

After GDP Growth Rate Slump, Arun Jaitley Assures 'Additional Measures' to Boost Economy
Arun Jaitley to resume charge as Finance Minister today (Image-PTI)

New Delhi, Sept 20: After accepting the slump in growth of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) as a “matter of concern”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government would be taking “additional measures” to boost the economy.

Highlights

  • GST dropped to 5.7% in first quarter of this fiscal.
  • Ex-PM Manmohan Singh blamed demonetisation, GST for the decline.
  • Jaitley, on Tuesday, held talks with PM Modi on the falling GDP rate.

The figures of first quarter of fiscal 2017-18, released last month, showed the GDP growth rate falling at 5.7 per cent. In the concurrent period last year, the GDP was soaring ahead at 7.6 per cent.

Jaitley, who has been meeting senior ministers in the government to discuss the GDP slump, said necessary steps would be taken to retrieve the pace at which the economy was growing nearly six quarters back.

The Finance Minister, who held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss the recent lacklustre growth of the economy, said his ministry would be holding additional rounds of consultations with the PM before announcing the fresh measures to rejuvenate the GDP.

“We have taken note of all economic indicators which are available … the government will take any additional moves which are necessary. I am not in a position to announce today in the press conference. I will be certainly consulting the Prime Minister before that and when we decide, you will come to know,” Jaitley was quoted as saying by PTI.

The remarks of Jaitley comes a day after former prime minister Manmohan Singh attacked the Modi government for the decline in GDP figures. Describing demonetisation and hasty roll-out of GST as “double whammy” for the economy, Singh claimed the two moves have crushed the informal sector, which 40 per cent of the GDP.

“So when 86 per cent of currency is withdrawn from circulation, plus GST, which was put in practice in haste.. lot of glitches are now coming up, it was bound to affect GDP growth adversely,” Singh said, while speaking to a TV channel.

Jaitley, however, claims the fall in GDP is ‘temporary’ as the government has efficiently pursued the path of reform which will aide the economy in the long-run.

“We have been taking appropriate actions … we have been consistently moving on the reform agenda,” he added.

The fall of GDP in April-June quarter of current fiscal marks the sixth consecutive slide of economy’s growth rate. The figures have dented New Delhi’s ambition to outmatch Beijing, which has been struggling over the past two years to achieve double-digit GDP surge.

According to reports, government will address the issue on sectoral level, and prepare an action point to revive each section of the economy. High-level meeting in this regard has been held with the Ministers of Railway and Commerce, along with their top bureaucrats.

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